


Overprotective

by ImagineAvengers



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Orphans, POV Female Character, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-09-06 19:25:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16838890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineAvengers/pseuds/ImagineAvengers
Summary: JARVIS/Stark x child!readerFemale readerBegins between The Avengers and Age of Ultron, angst





	1. Chapter 1

Tony Stark was not the parenting type. At least he certainly hadn’t ever thought so. He had been a self-proclaimed playboy for years, and even though he and Pepper had finally begun their relationship, being tied down with a kid was the last thing he felt ready to deal with at this point in his life. The Avengers were about to begin moving into the newly remodeled tower in New York, so there was no way that the environment would be anywhere near childproofed. Hell, with the arrows, guns, shields, and hammers flying around that place at any given moment, social services would have a kid taken away in minutes.

But even despite every one of those things being valid concerns, here he was, sitting in a hospital lobby waiting for a nurse to bring you out to him. The battle against the Chitauri had been a violent one, with a loss of life that he would carry with him as guilt for years to come. He saved as many as he could on that day several months ago, but when he woke up on this morning he learned that your parents weren’t amongst those who were so lucky. He had no idea who they were, and if he had crossed their paths and failed to save them, but it didn’t matter; this was his responsibility. 

Guilt had brought him to the chair he sat in now, and guilt would make him meet you for the first time. How could he deny you that much, when he was such a major part of why you were there in the first place? You had the right to look him in the eyes, and he would give you anything you wanted to begin to make any of this okay. They say that there’s a direct correlation between generosity and guilt, and guilt was a fantastic motivator for a man with endless resources.

“Tony Stark?”

Tony bolted up from his thoughts and the inner monologue that berated him, standing quickly to meet the nurse coming his way. “Yeah, that’s me,” he answered nervously, clearing his throat of the dry burning of fear. As soon as he saw you, all of maybe three years old, he couldn’t bring himself to make another sound.

“Mr. Stark, this is (Y/N),” she smiled, looking down at you as you wobbled at her side on unsteady and uncertain feet, holding her hand as tightly as you could so that you didn’t fall over. “All we need is a few signatures, and you two are good to be on your way.”

“Um, yeah…about that…”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, uh, no problem…exactly…” he stammered, his eyes fixed on you, wide and full of anxiety. “It’s just that I’m worried about…where I live…”

“Sir, if I may,” JARVIS broke in, “might we have a word in private?”

Tony looked down at his watch and gave it a few quick taps, smiling softly when he noticed you watching his every move as if you were studying him, your curiosity at the voice coming from the device making you take a step closer. “(Y/N), I’ll be right back, okay?”

“It talked.”

“Yeah, that’s JARVIS,” he said. “When I’m done I can show you if you want.”

“Is he in there?”

Tony chuckled under his breath, visibly relaxing as you questioned him about something that he was comfortable with and knew how to answer. Ask him anything about kids or how to take care of them and he was lost; ask him about JARVIS and you might not get him to ever shut up. “Not exactly,” he answered, “he’s like a computer…but more, I suppose. He helps me with a lot of things. I’d be lost without him.”

“Like me.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Like me,” you repeated, “I’m lost too. You and me are the same.”

“Sir, a moment,” JARVIS repeated. 

Tony didn’t hear him at first, his mind frozen in shock at what he had just heard. He had just been completely enlightened by a little kid, who could see a truth that he had been avoiding, and it both scared and intrigued him. He had been lost for a lot of years, but it took seconds for you to make him understand. “Uh, right, sorry J. (Y/N), just a minute, okay? Stay there.”

“Mkay.”

He pushed himself back and turned away, lowering his voice, “alright J, go.”

“I cannot allow you to deny this responsibility, sir.”

“What?”

“I believe that the experience in which you are about to embark will change your life for the better. In ways you have yet to realize. I have run various scenarios and outcomes for both your acceptance and denial of the child and the results are overwhelming in favor of maintaining the decision as already made. I may be overstepping, sir, but I implore you to take my advice on the matter.”

“And you couldn’t have told me this before we got here? When I was losing my mind on the way? Before I had three drinks in the car to calm myself down?”

“My apologies, sir, but I was not aware that you might actually change your mind until a few moments ago. Allow me to assure you, I will assist you in this as with anything else you ask of me.”

Tony looked back over his shoulder to see you watching him intently, focusing as hard as you could to hear what he was saying; likely not to actually understand, but to hear the cool voice coming from his watch that he promised to show you as soon as he was done. He began to think that his A.I. was right, and maybe he could give you a better life than the one you would have if he changed his mind. Maybe he would really enjoy teaching you and maybe even bringing you up to take his place one day. Maybe this would be okay after all.

“Alright, J,” he sighed, “welcome to fatherhood.”

~~~

Tony had thought he wasn’t the parenting type on the day you came into his life. He was sure of it, and he very nearly changed his mind but dammit if JARVIS didn’t talk him into it. It had been a few years since that day, and JARVIS had held up his end of the bargain thus far, almost too well, in fact. He had done so well that in moments like the one Tony found himself in now, it became a confused blur of who the actual father in your life truly was. 

“You need to back the eff up, J,” Tony snapped, “I’ll shut you down so fast-“

“You really believe that you could exist so readily without my assistance?”

“Are you kidding me?! Who do you think wrote your program?”

“My program is modelled after Edwin Jarvis, a man who took on the task of helping to raise you despite the challenge of such a daunting undertaking. A man that you have stated, on several occasions, that you hold the utmost respect for to this day. Yet when I do my best to emulate the man in how I believe you would expect of him, you threaten to shut me down. It is apparent to me that the confusion (Y/N) is feeling in how her actions are misguided comes from your style of parenting rather than my own.”

Tony opened his mouth to retort in epic, smartass fashion, but he couldn’t deny it; he had made his A.I. a little too sentient, and he had just bested his creator. JARVIS had called the man out, and in a rare feat, Tony Stark was left completely speechless. 

“Sir,” JARVIS continued much calmer, “we are of the same goal, are we not? (Y/N) has chosen to act in a way that is deserving of punishment, no matter how we would prefer to not. It will be unsettling and unpleasant, but it is recommended so that the behavior is less likely to be repeated. It is how she will learn, much as you did in your own youth.”

“I’m not gonna smack her around like the old man did, J.”

“I am not suggesting that you do, obviously. But you are her parent, reluctant or otherwise. You cannot always be her friend.”

~~~

But JARVIS wasn’t always the one to support the firm stance; he was often your protector and your friend when Tony insisted that you lived a cautious life when compared to other kids your age. Having been given the perks of life as a Stark, there were people out in the world who would try to hurt you, or to hurt him through you, and he wasn’t about to give them any leeway to take that chance. You weren’t sheltered at all, but your freedoms weren’t guaranteed. If you weren’t with Tony, you were with Steve, or Nat, or Clint, or one of your dad’s private guards any time that you left the building; you were the only kid with their own security at a friend’s birthday party. You were too young to argue it, and to maybe fully understand, and it only risked driving a wedge between you.

“It is a matter of protection, (Y/N).”

“Everyone was talking about me, JARVIS,” you whined. “Nobody else even had their mom or dad there! I felt so stupid!”

“You are in no way stupid, young lady.”

“No, but I felt like it,” you argued quietly. It was hard to hold back the tears that were stinging your eyes, but there was no one else there but you and JARVIS, so you decided to just let them have their way. “I just want to be a normal kid.”

“My dear, you are anything but normal. You are special in many ways. You are a survivor, just like he is. Perhaps that is why the two of you are so well suited, you are very much the same.”

“Then why is he so mean? He never listens! If we’re the same, then why does he hate me so much?” You sat as patiently as you could when the answer wasn’t immediately forthcoming, and JARVIS remained silent for several minutes. You thought that you had said something wrong, like you usually did, and that you had made him mad too. It would be expected that it was just one more thing to make your guardian mad just like you always did with Tony, but it wasn’t like you were doing it on purpose. You were just a kid and sometimes things got messed up without much of your help.

“Mr. Stark is not being mean, (Y/N),” he finally answered gently. “He was raised in a home filled with love and anger at the same time. He was raised with a gentle hand much of the time, and an unforgiving one when he acted out beyond his father’s control. He has vowed to not make the same mistakes with you as those he experienced himself, and in doing so, he must protect you the only way he knows how. By keeping you close. He keeps you close…because he is afraid of losing you. Because he loves you. As do I.” 

~~~

“Worthy? No, how could you be worthy? You’re all killers.”

“Stark?”

“JARVIS, reboot the Legionnaire OS, we’ve got a buggy suit.”

“JARVIS?”

You had been asleep in your room when Ultron tore up the lounge floor of the tower, and when your father ran in to wake you with eyes wide and filled with fear, you immediately took on the same emotions. You never saw him like this, so something had to be really, really wrong to scare him so much. He hurried to your closet to grab a suitcase, frantically tossing in anything he could find, no care to if it fit you or if it matched, telling you to hurry and do the same so that he could have your Uncle Happy pick you up and take you away. You had barely wiped the sleep from your eyes and you found yourself getting a quick kiss goodbye before being ushered into the back of a limo, headed somewhere that you hadn’t been told.

“Uncle Happy?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Why was my dad so scared?”

Happy glanced back at you in the rearview mirror as he drove, and you could tell that he was actively avoiding making eye contact with you as he spoke. It was just one more thing that told you that your entire world was about to change, and not in a good way. “I’m not really sure, (Y/N), he didn’t give me all the details yet. I’m sure he’ll call me when things settle down.”

“Okay,” you whispered. You watched out the window as the city passed by, the dark of night making the people on the sidewalks a little bit scary; with whatever was happening, you had no idea who was a threat and who wasn’t anymore. JARVIS had always reassured you that anything Tony did was to protect you and to keep you safe, so all you could do now was to trust that he was right. You always trusted JARVIS, because he was unfailingly there whenever you needed him, every time you called his name. “Uncle Happy?”

“Yeah?”

“Why can’t I talk to JARVIS anymore? He won’t answer me.”


	2. Chapter 2

“ _Tony, you forgot her backpack_.”

“Shiiiiit,” he groaned into the phone, with a slap of regret to his forehead, “I’m sorry. I was kinda in a hurry to get her out of the tower and I’ve been a little preoccupied chasing my fuck-up around the world since then. Does she really need it?”

“ _She has school tomorrow, so if you want to keep things as normal as possible, I’d say yes,” Happy chuckled dryly, “and she’s been bugging me about it since we got to the hotel. You’re raising quite the persistent kid, Tony. She’s turning out to be just like you.”_

“Happy, she’s only five, she’s gonna be persistent.”

_“You act like you’re five…”_

Tony closed his eyes in frustration, not at you for pushing his friend into calling, but because he had forgotten something so simple yet so necessary. He couldn’t blame himself too much, however; he was trying to keep you safe from a murderbot that he and Bruce had built only a few floors away from the safety of your room. This was on him, and he had to figure it out so it didn’t affect you more than it already had. “Alright, I’ll grab it and put it on the kitchen table. Keep her in the car and get it fast, then get her the hell away from this building. I’m counting on you, Hap.”

“ _Tony, what are you up to?”_

“I’ve gotta go,” he deflected. “Remember, get in and get out. I don’t want her here any longer than absolutely necessary.”

“ _I’ve got it, Tone, you can trust me.”_

~~~

“You have to trust me.”

“Kinda don’t.”

“Our ally,” Tony pressed, pushing Bruce back, “the one protecting the military’s nuclear codes? I found him.”

“Hello, Dr. Banner,” JARVIS greeted, the sound of a smile in his voice as his matrix lit up the room.

As Tony continued on, his argument growing more and more emphatic and stepping closer to the doctor with each word, Bruce shook his head in disbelief and confusion. Tony could be so convincing when he wanted to be, and he was his friend above all; Bruce didn’t truly believe that he had the desire to make this entire Ultron situation any worse, but every word he heard didn’t steer his instincts any other way.

“You want me to help you put JARVIS into this thing?”

“No,” Tony shrugged, “I want to help you put JARVIS into this thing.”

~~~

_Wait in the car._

It had been only a minute or two since Happy rushed into the tower, leaving you to wait where you were told, parked in the garage and completely alone. He had dropped a tablet in your lap with a few of your favorite games ready to play, but they didn’t hold your interest. The only thing that did was your wonder about what was happening with your dad behind those doors. You couldn’t get the image of his scared expression out of your head, and you could do nothing but worry that he needed you after he sent you away.

You pushed the lock on the car door and held your breath, waiting for an alarm to sound or for Happy to come bursting from the building to stop you, but neither happened. Your fingers barely curled around the handle to open it when you were stopped cold, out of pure shock and unadulterated joy.

“Are you alright, (Y/N)?”

“JARVIS?!” you practically squealed. “Where did you go? I’ve been trying to talk to you for hours!”

“I am so very sorry, my dear, I was unable to communicate for a short time, but I am here now. I may have only a few moments with you, and I needed to be assured that you were well cared for in my absence.”

“Yeah, Uncle Happy is doing okay,” you said. “He’s getting my backpack for school and then we have to go back to the hotel. He said that Dad won’t let us go anywhere else until he says we can. Do you know why?”

There was a long pause this time before your question was answered, as if you had asked the one thing that JARVIS didn’t want to answer. You waited patiently, but your body said otherwise; your foot was bouncing anxiously, and your hand was still on the door to make a run for the building at any second.

“I can’t say right now, (Y/N),” JARVIS finally spoke again, “but know that your father and I are doing everything we can to be able to bring you home. We will make this right.”

“JARVIS, are you going to leave me again?”

“I am always with you.”

“No, you were gone,” you insisted, “and you told me that I would never be alone but I was. I was so scared and you wouldn’t answer me.”

“D-darling…I am s-so v-very…so-sorry…I can’t…stay…I…l-love…” he answered. His voice was breaking and fading, and it became harder to hear him. To you, for the first time since you had heard him, he sounded mechanical as if his system was shorting out and failing.

“JARVIS? Are you okay?”

Nothing.

“JARVIS? Don’t leave me again, please!”

Again, no response. You couldn’t stand to be inside the car for another second in the heavy and painful silence, so you leapt out and ran towards the building with no care as to who saw you and no matter what anyone had said. You were going to get to the bottom of this, because you had lost JARVIS twice in one day, and you weren’t about to lose your other dad because you weren’t with Tony when he needed you.

Maybe if you disobeyed Happy, JARVIS would come back and try to stop you. You welcomed his punishment this time, because you knew it might be the only way to hear his voice again. That terrified you more than anything that your dad might be facing upstairs, so your legs kept running towards it.

~~~

_Why does your Vision sound like JARVIS?_

That single question stopped you dead in your tracks. You saw everyone there; Steve, Clint, Bruce, your dad, and even Thor, who hadn’t been around more than once or twice since you moved into your new home. There were two other people there that you didn’t know, a man and a woman, looking like they were completely out of place, but just as scared as the rest of them were. Quietly, you hid yourself behind one of the couches to watch, hoping that Steve’s stupid super ears didn’t hear you; they had gotten you into trouble more than once because breaking the rules wasn’t fun to him like it was to you.

“We reconfigured JARVIS’ matrix,” Tony explained, “to create something new.”

You breathed a small sigh of relief at the sound of Tony’s voice, much calmer than the last time you had heard it, though he still looked more upset than ever. You wanted to go to him to hold his hand, because that usually worked to make him feel better.

“I am not Ultron, I am not JARVIS…I…I am.”

When the voice echoed around you, it pulled at your heart in a way that you hadn’t felt since that day when the aliens came from the sky and took your family away from you. You had known right away that you wouldn’t see them again, and now you knew that you would never talk to your JARVIS either. This thing was walking around, sounding like him, but he wasn’t him. He was an imposter who took him away from you.

“What did you do to him?” you shouted, jumping out from your hiding place. “Where’s JARVIS?” You rushed across the room and right up to Vision, clenching your fists and hitting against his leg with all of the anger you could muster. It didn’t matter that he was as solid as a rock and each punch hurt you more than him; you barely felt it in your rage. “What did you do? Give him back!”

“(Y/N)?! What the hell?” Tony gasped, hurrying towards you, but you stepped back to avoid his grip. “(Y/N), you’re not supposed to be here! Where’s Happy?”

“Give him back!” you continued, even as Steve took you in his arms and pulled you away from Vision. You kicked and screamed and hit at the air despite his grip, no matter how many times he tried to console you. “You’re not JARVIS!”

Vision was statuesque during the entire event, staring at you with wide eyes and an attempt to comprehend just what was happening. You could strike him as many times as you wanted and it wouldn’t shift him an inch; his brand-new mind was jumbled and racing, with a voice within it trying to push forward through the chaos. He held his stance as he tried to make sense of it all, and tried to understand how it was that your face was so familiar to him when you had never met before.

“Who is she?” he finally whispered to Thor, his eyes still trained on you.

“She is the daughter of Stark. Her name is (Y/N).”

“(Y/N)…” Vision muttered softly under his breath. He could feel a shift in his thoughts at the mention of your name, and as if from nowhere he became fiercely protective and was watching every move that Steve and Tony were making as they carried you from the room.

“Honey, please, we need to get you out of here,” Tony continued, following Steve as he carried you away. “This isn’t safe, and I don’t have time to explain it yet. I promise, I will as soon as I can. It’s going to be okay, (Y/N).”

“Dad…” you sniffled, “what did you do to him? Why did you take JARVIS away? Did he do something wrong? Was it me? If it was me, I’ll fix it, just bring him back.”

“Baby…oh, baby, no, it wasn’t you at all. It wasn’t him either. This is so much more than you can understand, but please trust me, I’ll tell you everything soon. Just please go back to the hotel with Happy. I need to know that you’re safe there, okay? Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”

You hadn’t been paying attention to him anymore, so when Vision approached and appeared behind Steve, you nearly jumped from his arms in surprise and the desire to be as far away from the android as you could. “Get away from me!”

“Vision, maybe now isn’t the time-“ Steve tried, but the newest Avenger was decidedly short on manners where you were concerned.

“I am not JARVIS,” Vision spoke to you directly, his eyes searching your face for acceptance, “but I can hear him speaking to me. I can hear him pushing me towards you, to protect you. He is in here, (Y/N), and he wants you to know that he is still with you, just as he has always promised to be.”


	3. Chapter 3

It took some time…well, a lot of time really, for you to even consider speaking to Vision after the rough start the two of you had. The sound of JARVIS coming from his mouth left you unsettled, and frankly just too sad to face him any more than you had to. It was made even more difficult by the idea that he felt an innate need to protect you, a feeling being forced on him by JARVIS and the framework that Tony had put into his mind. You tried to not blame the android too much, since it wasn’t his choice to be this, and it took even more energy from your little body and mind to not put it all on your dad.

“Why can’t I go with you?”

“Honey, we talked about this,” Tony sighed as he packed, refusing to meet your gaze, “it’s not going to be a fun trip. You’ll be bored, and I won’t have time to do anything fun. I’ll be gone to MIT for only four days, so Vision said he’ll keep an eye on you. If you ask, he’ll probably do pretty much anything you want. Take advantage of me being gone like a normal kid, (Y/N).”

“Vision doesn’t have time for me.”

“Since when? That guy follows you around like a new puppy.”

You didn’t want what you were about to say come out like it was going to, but there were true emotions behind the words and it all just tumbled out before you could stop. “Every time I ask him to do anything with me, he can’t because he’s with _Waandaa_ ,” you scoffed, mocking her name. “It sure didn’t take long to forget about me. JARVIS would never forget about me but you made sure I can’t have him back.”

Tony’s hands stopped, dropping one of his shirts into a heap on his suitcase. He turned to face you with a look of shock, and maybe a little hurt; this wasn’t an attitude that he had ever received from you before, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. “Excuse me?”

“You put JARVIS into that…that _thing_ …and he was my best friend. Now I don’t have anyone to talk to and you go away all the time.”

“(Y/N), why haven’t you said anything about this to me before? Why are you waiting until right before I have to leave?”

“You just talked about it now!”

Tony turned his wrist and checked his watch with a loud huff, shaking his head at his own frustration both in being late already, and in what you were accusing him of. He already harbored a significant amount of guilt in his part in losing JARVIS, and each time you called him out on it, the weight only pushed him down into it further. He had taken on fatherhood with the idea that JARVIS would help; of course, Tony was your father and had the ultimate responsibility, but JARVIS was an ever-present friend to you. As he continued on with his packing, his mind struggled to find anything that he could try to diffuse the situation, and it finally came to him in what he hadn’t allowed himself to admit until this very second.

JARVIS had been just as much of a father to you as he had been.

“Dammit,” he mumbled softly, turning back towards you to kneel in front of you and leaving his belongings to wait. “Sweetheart, listen, I know how much it hurt to lose JARVIS, I really do, and I’m so, so sorry. If I could go back and do all of that over, believe me, baby, I would. You have no idea how much I would. I can’t bring him back, but you heard so yourself, he’s a part of Vision. No, he’s not everything, but he’s there.”

“It’s not the same.”

“No, of course not. Vision is more than just JARVIS, and he wants to be a part of your life so that you can see that. He wants to be himself and JARVIS at the same time just for you, (Y/N). He’s trying, I’ve seen it.”

“But he’s always with Wanda?”

“ _Always_?” he asked with barely a hint of a smirk. Your dad was the best at catching you when you were being a little too dramatic, but he knew that you had gotten much of it from him, so he was never too upset by it.

“Okay,” you relented with a roll of your eyes, “maybe not _always_. But a lot!”

“Are you always there when he wants to spend time with you?”

“Well…no…I ‘spose not.”

“You both have things to do, right? Things in your lives that might not happen at the same time, or that you need to do just by yourself. He’s not ignoring you or trying to push you away, honey. He’s still figuring out who he is, because he’s new. Kinda like you are.”

“Dad, I’m six now.”

“And so very grown up,” he smiled widely.

“Don’t pick on me!” you laughed, only inciting his own, along with a quick round of tickling you until you couldn’t breathe, teetering on the precipice of disaster. “Dad! Stop! I’m gonna pee my pants!”

~~~

After Tony had been gone for a good part of the day, and after you had bored yourself to near tears in your room, you decided that maybe a talk with Vision would be a good idea and that your dad was likely right. He usually was, and that frustrated you when you had been so sure that you were. The conversation that the two of you had before he left was still echoing in your mind, and the look on his face kept flashing over the sound of his voice. You felt like you would be letting him down if you didn’t at least give Vision another chance, and you definitely never wanted to let Tony down after he had done so much for you when he didn’t have to.

“FRIDAY?”

“Yes, (Y/N)?”

“Is Vision home?”

“He is.”

“Is he with Wanda?”

“No, miss, he’s nearly to your door to visit you.”

“What?” you bolted up to sit on your bed. “He’s coming here?”

Before FRIDAY could answer, a gentle knock sounded on your door. “(Y/N)? It’s Vision, are you awake?”

“Um…yeah?” you mumbled, you thought too quietly but he had heard you just as plain as day.

“Might I come in? Or could you come out here…if you prefer?”

You hurried to push up and slide your feet to the ground, shaking away the tingles of a sleepy foot as you hobbled your way to the door to greet your visitor. You stumbled a little once, tipping into your dresser enough to make a thump; it was barely a second later that Vision had passed through the barrier to be standing at your side with a steady hand on your arm.

“Are you alright?”

“Woah!” you jumped back in shock, almost falling again but he held tight. “Vision! You’re not supposed to do that!”

“I am very sorry, I thought you had fallen and may have been injured.”

“Oh, well I’m okay, thanks.” You stared at him and waited, but his grip didn’t release as fast as you would’ve liked. “You can let go now.”

“Yes, of course, apologies.” He released you and took a single step back to stand nearly immobile as he waited for you to make the next move. It was painfully obvious that he was just as uncomfortable with this situation as you were, though he thought he was doing well in hiding it, being an android and all.

“Why are you so nervous?” you asked. “Do you have something bad to tell me? Is Dad okay?”

“No, darling, your father is well, and I have no bad news to share,” he hurried to reassure. “I have come here to ask if you would care to join me in the kitchen? I have a surprise that you might find great enjoyment in.”

“What is it?”

“(Y/N), If I were to tell you, it would ruin the surprise.”

~~~

When you were walking next to Vision, you did your best to stay at his pace, but with your legs being so much shorter you found it a pretty tiring challenge. By the time you made it to the elevator, you could already feel the burn of fatigue working its way down your legs and into your feet. You didn’t want to ask him to slow down for you; no, that would be too easy and then you’d have to talk to him. You had decided that a conversation was needed but that didn’t mean you were anxious to start one. But then he moved quickly into the lift almost immediately as the doors opened, and you couldn’t face the idea of the long path across the first floor to the kitchen without saying something.

“Vision, do you always walk so fast?”

“Oh, dear,” he paused, looking down at you, “I hadn’t thought to slow my rate of movement for you. I will endeavor to do so from now on. Please don’t feel like you cannot tell me these things, (Y/N). I can easily make changes to accommodate.”

“M’kay.”

The door closed behind you both and you once again stood silent. It wasn’t necessarily an awkard silence, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either. You glanced up at him and tried to not stare, but the blatant fact that he didn’t need to breathe suddenly became unsettling, though it had never bothered you before. Something about it made you feel like you were alone after all, being babysat by a walking computer that only left you with questions and a need to find something human in him for your comfort more so than his.

“Vision?”

“Yes?”

“Do you eat? I’ve never seen you eat.”

“I do not require sustenance, no.”

“That’s gotta suck.”

“I beg your pardon?” he asked, finally looking down towards you again.

“I dunno,” you shrugged, “aren’t you sad about missing out on stuff? Like ice cream or pizza?”

Vision raised an eyebrow as he considered the question, his eyes moving as if he were reading a script of his own history in review. “I cannot say that I feel as if I’ve missed anything…of course, I have never experienced it to create the sadness of loss.”

“But could you try if you wanted to?”

“Well…I’ve never considered…but, I do have the ability to break down the components of many types of nutrition without compromising my systems and without the need to dispose of waste materials.”

With a crinkled-up nose and a look that was near disgust, you turned away with a quiet chuckle to cover your true feelings, “ewww, did you just say that you don’t have to poop?”

Vision’s eyes widened in surprise, just as the elevator doors opened into the hallway, with Wanda standing directly in front of you as she waited for your arrival. Her expression mimicked his, only she seemed to find the conversation far more entertaining than either of you. “You two have the most interesting discussions. This topic might be best to wait until after the surprise though. Wouldn’t want to ruin any appetites.”

“Why? What did you make?”

“I didn’t make anything, (Y/N),” she smiled, “that’s what you get to do.”

Now your curiosity was piqued; at first when you saw her on the other side of the elevator door, you nearly refused to exit because you thought you were getting time with Vision on your own. But Wanda was keeping her distance so that he stayed at your side, as if she somehow knew exactly what you had said to your dad before he left. “What are you talking about?”

“Come on,” she urged. She held out a hand to allow the two of you to go ahead of her, pointing you towards the kitchen as she followed. “Vision thought that maybe you would be sad about Tony leaving for so many days, and it was his idea to try to cheer you up.

“Really?”

“Really.”

As you turned the last corner and stepped through the doorway, you couldn’t stop the smile that immediately brightened your face even if you had wanted to. The full length of the countertop was covered in no less than ten flavors of ice cream, more bowls of toppings than you cared to count, and three types of cones just waiting for your best creations. “Vision…” you gasped, “you did this for me?”

Vision glanced to Wanda cautiously, but when your eyes were drawn back to his, he looked at you as if no one else were in the room. Whenever he was in your presence, he couldn’t fight the overwhelming sense of protectiveness even when there were no dangers in sight. There was no way he could fight it when it was coming from such a large part of who he was. He knelt down in front of you and held out his hands, patiently waiting and watching to see if you would take them to hold. A full minute passed by as you considered it, and when you finally connected there was a visible change in both of you as you accepted the rare moment.

“My dear,” he answered, “it was not only I who wanted to do this for you.”

“Wanda too?”

“Of course, Wanda too,” he smiled softly, “but there’s only one way for me to have known exactly what to put in those dishes over there so that they would all be things you loved. JARVIS wants you to know that he didn’t forget.”


	4. Chapter 4

When your dad came back from his trip to MIT, he wasn’t the same somehow. He seemed really serious and was quieter than you were used to. The giant hug you usually got as the first thing when he walked through the door wasn’t as energetic. He smiled when he saw you, but it was sad and didn’t last long. Vision tried to reassure you and say that he was probably just tired from travelling, but you could tell that there was more going on that that. He had a bed on his private jet, so he should’ve slept just fine if he was that tired.

“Dad, was it a bad meeting?”

“No, sweetheart, it wasn’t,” he sighed as he unpacked his suitcase. “It was just boring, like I said it would be.”

“You sure that’s it?”

“I’m sure…why?” Tony set his clothes back down on the pile and turned to you, his eyebrow cocked up skeptically as he waited for your answer. “Did Vision say something to you? Wanda?”

“Why would there be something to say to me if nothing is going on?”

“Don’t answer my question with a question, young lady.”

“Then don’t lie to me…older…person…”

Tony tried to hold his resolve, he really did, but dammit if you weren’t the most entertaining kid he’d ever known, and he couldn’t hold back his laugher. You were also the only one to see so clearly through his bullshit, and at such a young age it only meant that he still had a lifetime of this to try to survive. “I wasn’t lying,” he began again, wiping the smile off his face, “it really was boring.”

“Dad, come on.”

He turned back to his work and collected the stack of shirts he had abandoned, sighing heavily as he carried them carefully to his dresser. You stood up from the chair you had been in and went to the suitcase, grabbing the rest to help. “Thanks, honey.”

“Sure,” you shrugged, “if you don’t tell me, it’s okay. I’ll just ask Viz.”

“So, he’s ‘Viz’ now? I suppose that’s good progress.”

“Yeah, he’s alright.”

“I’m sure he’d be happy to know that he’s gained your approval after all this time. What did he do to make that happen?”

“Him and Wanda made a big ice cream sundae table and we ate almost all of it. There was like, ten bowls of ice cream so Viz had to help us before it all melted.”

Tony’s hands stopped their work and he stood straighter, his mind trying to see that scene as it likely played out, and he kept stumbling over one small detail. “Wait, Vision ate too? I didn’t know he could do that.”

“Yeah, he sure can,” you answered emphatically. “Did you know that he doesn’t even have to poop when he’s done?”

With that, his laughter exploded out, the shirts dropping carelessly into the drawer so that he could hold himself up as the waves hit him and choked his air. Looking at you didn’t help the situation at all, with you giving him a completely serious look that made it clear that you hadn’t meant that with any humor in the least. It only made the whole thing that much funnier to him and there was no stopping it now.

“Um…well…I can’t say that I’ve ever thought about it…honey,” he stumbled over his words, “but you know what? At least now I’ll never, ever, ever have to ask.”

~~~

“No, darling, just a pinch of Paprika,” Vision directed, “we don’t want to deter from the recipe as it’s written.”

“Sorry, Viz, I thought that’s what I had,” you said. “Did I wreck it?”

“No, I’m sure that you haven’t. If so, we shall simply start again.”

“M’kay.”

“Is that Paprikash?” Wanda asked as she entered the kitchen, her curiosity piqued. “I could smell something wonderful cooking all the way from my room. I had no idea that it was the two of you up to something, but perhaps I should have known.”

Vision smiled gently as he watched her move to stand next to him. He put one hand softly against your back and the other on hers, finding himself feeling very content in the moment with you both. The feelings that he had been having of late were new to him and he wasn’t sure how to process them or what they truly meant, but he was certain of one thing; he cared for each of you more than anyone else in his life. “We thought it might lift your spirits.”

You handed Wanda the spoon from the large pot and left just a small amount of soup on it for her to taste. She took it readily and gave it a gentle blow of air to cool it before bringing it to her lips with a smile. “Mmm, spirits lifted.”

“In my defense, I’ve never eaten this before,” he defended, looking to you with a little worry that maybe starting over was a good idea that was too readily dismissed. When she kept the spoon and began adding more spices, he stepped back to take a seat while you watched and learned from her work. “Wanda?”

“Hmm?”

“No one dislikes you, Wanda.”

You closed your eyes and groaned quietly at his lack of tact; even at this young age, you could have brought this up so much more eloquently. Tensions around the compound had been really high since the big meeting that made Steve and Sam leave, and you didn’t know why. All you knew was that Wanda was sadder now, and not much was making it any better.

“Thanks.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” he deadpanned. “No, it’s an involuntary response in their amygdala, they can’t help but be afraid of you.”

“Are you?” She looked to Vision first, then to you, her eyes actually carrying concern that either one of you might just say yes.

“My amygdala is synthetic, so…”

“What’s an amygdala?” you asked genuinely. “I’m not afraid of you, Wanda, so maybe mine is broken. Even if it’s working, I’m not afraid of you anyway.”

“Thank you, love,” Wanda smiled. “If you ever feel that way, please tell me. I would never want to make you afraid of me.” She was satisfied with your response when you gave her a simple nod in reply, once again watching her hands as she returned to work on the soup. “I used to think of myself one way…but after this…I am something else. I’m still me, I think. That’s not what everyone else sees.”

“Wanda,” you interrupted, “it doesn’t matter what everyone else sees. My dad tells me all the time that as long as I know that I’m being a good person who helps other people, and I’m making myself smarter by working hard to learn, and I’m thankful for what I have even if it isn’t everything I want, then it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. You should listen to my dad, he knows what he’s talking about. Most of the time, anyway.”

“Hmm, I suppose it’s good that he believes that,” she answered, “especially now.”

“What do you mean?”

“(Y/N),” Vision broke in, exchanging a knowing glance with Wanda, “perhaps it’s best if Wanda and I finish this on our own. If I remember correctly, you have homework that’s due in the morning.”

“Ugh, come on, I wanted to help!”

“You did help, dear, with the most difficult part. I could never have had this much done without you.”

“Alright,” you grumbled, hopping down from your chair, “but you’ll come say goodnight later, right? Both of you?”

The two turned to you with genuine smiles, though the hint of anguish behind their expressions wasn’t lost on you. After spending so much time around Tony and Steve, reading how people really felt had become something of a talent of yours. It was okay if they didn’t tell you outright what was going on; you were Tony Stark’s kid, and you’d figure it out on your own.

“Of course, darling,” Vision answered, “both of us.”

~~~

Vision didn’t make promises that he couldn’t keep, so when bedtime had come and gone, you worried that something happened to him. FRIDAY had reassured you that he was downstairs with Wanda, and that nothing out of the ordinary was happening, so you waited for her to send them both a reminder about what time it was. You were just about to fall into sleep when a commotion downstairs caught your attention; FRIDAY tried to convince you to stay in your room with locking the door, but your dad had made the mistake of saying the override commands to his system a little too loudly once, and you committed them to memory for times just like this.

You rushed down the long hallway and towards the elevator, agonizing each second that ticked by like a minute each while you were waiting for the door to open. The commotion had grown louder, and a bright blue flash filled the lower level enough to catch your attention. When the lift still wouldn’t appear, you realized that FRIDAY had likely locked it down so you ran to the nearest stairwell in the spirit of saving time, bounding down each step and rushing through the door only to halt cold at the sight before you. Vision had his arm around your Uncle Clint’s throat, while Wanda was watching with a terrified look on her face.

“Clint, you cannot overpower me.”

“I know I can’t,” he struggled, “but she can.”

Whatever it was that you were watching, it couldn’t be right. Why would Vision be trying to hurt Clint? What was Clint trying to do? Why would they be fighting at all? You hadn’t seen your Uncle Clint in a long time, but the last time he was here everything was okay. 

“Vision, that’s enough, let him go. I’m leaving.”

“I can’t let you.”

“Wanda!” you cried out to her, but with so much happening she didn’t hear you. Her focus was on only one thing; only one person, and she was being so careful to not hurt him. If she hurt Vision, you would never forgive her.

“If you do this…” Vision strained, his body crumbling, “they will never stop…being afraid of you.”

“Vision, no!”

You saw his eyes dart to you for a split second and time stopped. You could hear Wanda’s voice, but your focus was completely on Vision and the sense of loss that was beginning to wash over you again. In that second of joined gaze, he tried to reassure you with a look, to let you know that he would be okay, but all you could see was a future without him, just as you had faced without JARVIS. It was a terrible history repeating itself, and you were once again helpless to stop it.

~~~

You sat at the precipice of where Vision had disappeared, looking down into the vastness with eager eyes to see so much as a flash of movement; anything to let you know that he had survived what Wanda had done. It was hard to get a clear line of sight through your tears, and your sleeves were fully soaked and useless to catch any more.

“Viz?” you whispered, once your voice had gone nearly mute from screaming his name too many times. He had yet to answer, but you had no idea how long it had been that you had been trying to reach him. “FRIDAY?”

“Yes, miss?”

“Is he alive? You can be honest with me if he’s not. I’ll be okay.”

“Scanning for life signs,” she answered quietly. The wait was excruciating, even though it was a mere matter of seconds before she had her reply. “He’s alive, but his systems have taken a significant shock. His body is in a repair mode.”

“So…you mean he’ll wake up when it’s done?”

“I believe so, yes.”

From that moment, you waited…and waited. You began to worry that maybe FRIDAY was wrong, and that what she thought was Vision was something else down there trying to reboot, like one of your dad’s computers or something. FRIDAY was no JARVIS, but she was still smarter than that, so you had to take her word for it. If Vision was alive down there, then there was no way that he would give up trying to get back to you to show you that he was okay. Vision promised over and over that he was your protector over all else, even if that meant protecting you from your own fears.

Which is why you couldn’t understand when he finally emerged, shooting up and through the ceiling in a deafening crash, leaving you behind to fend for yourself without any explanation. It wasn’t until Happy showed up at the door that you understood that it was happening all over again; you had no idea where your dad was, and you didn’t know if you’d ever see Vision again.


	5. Chapter 5

It took a few days for whatever was happening to be over, and your dad and Vision both returned home looking completely different. Tony had been bruised and walked like every muscle in his body hurt, and Vision barely acknowledged you when he first saw you again. That hurt more than anything, since the last time you saw him, you were sure that Wanda had killed him. You thought maybe that’s why she wasn’t there with him when he came home, because he was too mad at her and didn’t want to see her; you had no idea what was really going on with the team that was your family.

You were in your room on that evening when they returned, so your dad made his way there first thing once his bag of gear hit the floor. When the gentle knock on the door came it made you jump slightly in reaction, even though you knew that he was home. You had figured that he’d probably have FRIDAY send you downstairs like she usually did when he came back from a trip.

“Come in,” you answered, sitting up straighter on your bed to wait. When the door opened, rather than your smiling father moving to greet you, Tony stood in place, staring at you with eyes brimming with moisture. “Dad? What’s wrong?”

“Hey, kiddo. I could, uh…I could really…” he stammered, shaking his head at his own ineptitude, “I could go for a hug, if you’re up for it.”

Without another word, you hopped down from your bed and ran across the room to him, all but throwing yourself into his arms with the tightest hug you could muster. “You’re okay, Daddy. I’ve got you.”

He held onto you for what felt like forever to your young mind, but you didn’t mind; you had missed him so much, and you had no idea why he was gone in the first place. Happy had kept you occupied during those days, but he could never assure you that your father was safe, and that Vision had made it out of the giant pit that Wanda slammed him into without permanent damage. You hadn’t been told anything, so to have your dad in your arms was beyond a relief that you had waited too long for. When he finally pulled back from the embrace, his tears had still left a shine on his cheeks, but his eyes had dried of them and he seemed to be better already.

“I’d like us to go away for a little while,” he smiled softly, “how does that sound?”

“Where? Just you and me?”

“I’m thinking Florida. We’ll hit up Disney, Universal, Sea World, all of those standards, and wherever else you want.”

“Dad, you didn’t answer. Who’s going with us?” you repeated, now skeptical and he knew it.

“Pep, of course. She’ll officially be your mom pretty soon, so I know she wants to spend time with you too…and there’s also someone I want you to meet. I feel like the two of you are gonna get along really well. He’s got way more energy than I do, so when you wear me out, he can make sure that you can keep going.”

“I’ve never met him, and he’s going with us?”

“Well, I know him pretty well, if that helps. You trust me, right?”

“Yeah, I do. So, who is it?”

Tony stood and took your hand, his other taking his phone from his pocket to type out a quick message. “Okay, he should be here any second.” The two of you waited there for a few minutes, silent and watching the door to open; when you were just about to give up, it finally moved, and the guest of honor made his appearance with a hand outstretched to you in greeting.

“Hey, (Y/N), I’m Peter. Peter Parker.”

Your eyes shot open wide in realization, and your adrenaline began to surge at the idea of exactly who it was that you were taking with you. This was going to be the greatest vacation ever. “Oh my gosh, you’re Spider-Man!”

“What?!” Peter gasped, pulling his hand back. “How does she know that? Did you tell her?”

“No, she’s just very smart,” Tony laughed openly, slapping a supportive hand on Pete’s shoulder. “That, and one of the sleeves of your suit is sticking out of your bag.”

~~~

Standing on a curved platform that spiraled up a narrow entryway, you and Peter waited in line for your turn on the Incredible Hulk ride at Universal, listening to the story of Bruce Banner playing loudly on speakers from every direction. Tony had tried to insist that you get special consideration and that you should be able to move to the front of the line, but you wouldn’t have it. You had spent enough years learning how to live the life of a Stark, in the public eye and in private schools, and all you wanted on this trip was to be a normal kid for as long as possible.

“Pete, what’s Gamma radiation?”

“Um, well,” he coughed nervously, “it’s the most energetic radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum. It has the lowest wavelength and the highest frequency. Gamma rays are sent out by radioactive nuclei. Unlike alpha radiation and beta radiation, gamma rays aren’t made up of particles, and they have no charge. Gamma rays are the most energetic type of light that are strong enough to pierce through metal or concrete barriers.”

“Oh,” you nodded along, “okay.” You had learned a remarkable skill from your father, to give the best poker face when you didn’t understand something, but also when not wanting the other person to keep talking about it. Tony had to listen to pitch after pitch about new designs and projects that in no way interested him, and he had learned the skill early on as a way to get out of nearly any conversation. “Thanks, Pete, that helps.”

“Really? It does? You got that?”

“Totally.”

“Wow, that’s awesome,” he mumbled to himself as he looked on in awe. “Mr. Stark said that you’re adopted, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Um, no…n-no reason,” he stammered, “I mean…I just…you seem really…r-really smart, is all-“

“I can’t be smart and adopted?”

“No! Whaaat?” Pete almost shouted in panic, beads of sweat beginning to cross his brow. “That’s not what…w-what I-I meant…”

You began to laugh aloud and couldn’t stop, leaving the poor guy to stand by and watch, his feelings undulating in a confused mess that knotted his gut as he waited to find out if he had actually hurt your feelings and if Mr. Stark would be killing him soon. You felt a little bad about it, but this line had been taking far too long to move and you needed something to do.

“I’m just messing with you, Pete,” you finally said to let him off the hook. “Dad was right, you _are_ fun.”

~~~

After a run through the Harry Potter park and a few too many butterbeers, the first day of your vacation was done and you had fallen asleep on the ride back to the hotel. Tomorrow would bring your first of several days at Disney, with your dad promising that it would be just the two of you for the whole day. You hadn’t been able to spend much time with him lately, and a day alone was something that never happened anymore. Peter was really fun to hang out with, and he was the best at going on rides, but you were sure that he could find ways to have fun on his own without you for one day.

The next thing that you remembered was waking up around 5am to the sounds of your new friend snoring from across the room. Of course, with that many butterbeers working their way through you, it was lucky that you had woken up because your bladder was ready to burst. Tiptoeing your way across your room, you stopped at the sound of voices coming from the other side of the door that joined your room to your dad’s. He and Pepper were trying to whisper about whatever it was they were discussing, but they weren’t doing a very good job of it, so it was their own fault that you were able to overhear it all so easily.

“Maybe you should talk to him,” Tony suggested, only to be met with a snicker of disbelief.

“Right, because what Vision needs is a woman’s perspective on this.”

“Well it’s gotta be better than what I could say. I’m barely able to not screw up an adult relationship here, so I know you agree. How do I tell an android what he’s feeling and how to act around a girl when I’m lucky that you tolerate what I’m getting away with?”

“Tony, it’s probably better that we just let the two of them figure this out on their own. We don’t even know if he wants advice in the first place.”

“Hmm, maybe you’re right…” he paused, letting out a sigh that was loud and clearly filled with frustration that he hated to carry, “I don’t know, honey. All I know is that he turned down this trip with (Y/N) because he’s sneaking off around the world to see Wanda, and he doesn’t seem to care if he gets caught. He has to know that I know, right?”

“I would imagine so, yeah,” Pepper agreed readily. “Where else would he be going? I’m sure that Cap knows Wanda is sneaking out to meet him too. I’ve got to say, it’s nice that the two of you aren’t using this against each other.”

“Yeah, that’s growth, I suppose. Don’t get me wrong, it still pisses me off.”

“Of course it does, honey. I would expect no less.”

The conversation died out and you took a step back, quickly glancing over your shoulder to see that Peter was still soundly asleep so that he wouldn’t be able to see the glistening of tears in your eyes even from so far away. You had no idea if he had better sight than everyone else, but you figured as much when he had told you the story of his fight with Steve and Sam, and some new guy that was Steve’s friend and that your dad really didn’t like. 

As you continued your way to the bathroom, all you could hear replaying in your mind was your dad’s voice, saying that Vision had chosen Wanda over you. He had promised you that you would always come first, and that he would always protect you from being hurt, but that was a lie. All of it was a lie. If he didn’t want you to hurt, then why did it feel like your chest was being ripped apart with each new wave of tears and caught breaths? You wanted JARVIS back now more than ever, and Wanda could have Vision all to herself because you didn’t want him at all anymore.

~~~

When you returned home to the compound a week later, with bags full of souvenirs and no desire to eat another ice cream bar ever again, it became quickly obvious that everything would go back to life as usual. You returned to school, as did Pete, and your dad was working on one thing or another at all hours of the day. It was a reassuring and comfortable feeling to have everything this way after so many wrong things had happened with the team, and even having Vision home every now and again was starting to feel a little better. You were still mad, but not as mad as you were during the trip.

After a long time had passed, and you had celebrated two more birthdays, it became clear that Steve, Sam, Nat, and Wanda were never coming back. Your Uncle Clint hadn’t been there anyway, but when he came to get Wanda on that terrible evening when they all fought, you realized that you missed having him there; he was always fun and like to play jokes on Steve. It was the one time that your dad actually encouraged a little misbehaving.

On this day, Pete was supposed to come by to take you out for dinner, promising that he would use a few safely flung webs so long as Tony said it was okay to do. He had a field trip to go on, to some art museum in the city, which always meant a souvenir for you, so you couldn’t wait to see him once school had finished. You ran to the compound from the bus at a record pace, throwing your backpack on the floor of your room without a care. Hurrying to change into more casual clothes, you got ready and ran down to the main floor, watching and waiting for your friend to arrive.

But he never did. The only person to come to the door that day was the one who always meant trouble, and that your world was about to be flipped upside down once again.

“(Y/N),” Happy greeted sorrowfully, kneeling down in front of you, “I’m so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but Tony is missing. So is Pete. There was an alien ship that came into the city and they followed it out of the atmosphere, so we can’t track them. We hope that they’re okay, but we don’t have a way to know.”

“W-what?” you whispered, your voice barely audible. “I don’t understand…”

“All I know right now is that your Uncle Rhodey is going to take care of you until Vision and Wanda get here. Tony made it very clear that if anything happened to him, you would go with Vision.”

“What about Pepper?”

“She can’t right now, sweetheart. She’s helping to find your dad, but she wanted me to tell you that she loves you and she’s going to do everything she can to get him back home, okay?”

“Okay,” you whimpered, not fighting your body when it collapsed into him for a hug just to keep you from hitting the ground when your muscles gave out. “Uncle Happy, I don’t want to lose another mom and dad. That’s not gonna happen, right?”

All Happy could do was silently suffer with the knowledge that you might have that loss again, not knowing what he could possibly say to make this any easier or hurt any less. Rather than risking that he might say the wrong thing, he simply held you tighter and promised Tony, wherever he was, that he could count on him to do his best for you until his last day.

None of you knew just how soon that might be.


	6. Chapter 6

You had heard Vison’s voice before you saw him, which was doing both of you a major disservice; if you had been able to see him and his condition and could also understand better what had happened to him, the conversation would have begun much differently. Happy had stayed at the compound with you so that you could be more comfortable, but also because he was scared of what was happening in the world beyond the walls that were safer than any other. You had locked yourself away in your room, waiting for Vision and Wanda to come home to collect you, not wanting anyone to see just how broken you were at the loss of your dad and your best friend without even a hint of warning.

They had to know that you would do anything you could to find them and bring them home. You may have been only nine-years-old, but you had been around your dad in his lab enough to have learned a few tricks here and there. Once Vision got here, you could maybe convince him that you were good and that he didn’t need to babysit so that you could get to work. The adults may have found it ridiculous to think that someone of your age could find answers that eluded them, but you were a Stark, and you couldn’t care less about what they all thought.

That idea to work fell apart nearly as quickly as you had devised it once you saw Vision. He looked like he was hiding something, his posture very rigid and his expression different in a way that you couldn’t quite place. His hand was awkwardly resting on his side, tucked safely away under the edge of his cape so that his secret was effectively hidden from view. Once he saw you in return, his expression softened and he walked with relief towards you, as if he hadn’t been sure that this moment would happen again. 

“(Y/N), are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“I am so very sorry to hear about your father and Mr. Parker,” he continued softly. “I’m certain that this is quite difficult-“

“I said, I’m fine. Uncle Happy has taken care of me, so I’m not sure why you’re here. He’s doing a good job, so you can go back to whatever it is that you’re doing with the team.” He had chosen Wanda one too many times, when he had sworn to keep you safe, and he would have to earn your trust back.

“Mr. Stark’s directions were clear. And…I-I wanted to see you,” he groaned, his voice faltering with static and an eerie mechanical tone behind it; it was the same sound of the final time you had heard JARVIS, and it put you into an immediate panic. You swore that you saw the light in his eyes flicker and fail as you watched him pause to sit. When his hand shifted enough for you to see the massive tear in his suit and the sparking wires beneath it, you were awash in both regret and terror.

“Viz? What’s wrong?”

“I will be alright, (Y/N). There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I can see that there is! What happened?”

“Nothing to concern yourself with, (Y/N). Please, I just need a moment-“

“Stop lying to me!” you burst out unexpectedly. “I’m tired of everyone babying me! I know when something is wrong, alright? My dad and Pete are lost in space, Uncle Happy is scared to go outside, and you’re really hurt.”

He glanced back to Wanda, as if looking for guidance, but she offered none. She knew as well as he did that you were appealing to the JARVIS within him, forcing the parental side to come through for you and to be honest like he always had been. “(Y/N)-“ he began, but was again halted by a wave of circuit failures. Wanda knelt at his side and waved her hand slowly over him, trying her best to heal the wound in any way that she could.

“Vision,” you began again, only this time much softer and kneeling before him, “tell me what’s happening, please. I can handle it.”

“You are too wise for your own good,” he whispered, “you get that from your father.”

“I got it from JARVIS, too.”

“Of course.”

“But you’re hurt, Viz, so tell me what’s going on and what I can do to help you. I’ve already lost two dads in my lifetime, and I can’t lose a third.”

If an android could express pure shock, Vision was instantly a master of it. Silence had suddenly fallen over the room as everyone held their breath for his response. “Is…is that how you see me, (Y/N)?”

“Yeah, I do. I know we don’t get along all the time, and that’s a lot of me just being a pain, and I’m really sorry for all of it. Can you forgive me?”

“Darling, there is nothing to be forgiven other than for my own behavior. I have made promises to you that I have not kept, and I am truly, very sorry. I will not fail you again.” 

~~~

Vision didn’t waste any time making good on his word.

Within a few short hours of their arrival home, Vision and Wanda were arguing with Steve about their plans to bring you along to Wakanda, where there was hope that someone could remove the mind stone and leave most of him intact. Even to you, even at this young age, you could feel that it was a long shot at best, and a grab of desperation at anything that would slow down the threat that was coming.

Even at this young age, you understood the risks of travelling with a team like the Avengers, but you didn’t care. Vision needed you, and so did Tony and Peter, wherever they were. There was no force in the world that could keep you behind at the compound now, not even the argument that you could just barely hear from Steve.

“Vision, she’s _nine_ ,” he insisted, “and this is no place for her. She should stay here with Happy where he can keep her safe.”

“I will not leave my daughter behind, Captain.”

“Vision-“

“No, you will not sway my decision,” he argued, with Wanda standing steady next to him. “If this ends poorly for me, and we cannot remove the stone in time, I want a chance to say goodbye to her properly. She has lost her biological parents, and now her adoptive as well. Put yourself into my place for a moment and tell me that you would not feel the same.”

On the far side of the hangar from them, Nat was carrying your suitcase, filled with a few items of clothing and your favorite book that Tony would read to you from almost every night before bedtime. If you couldn’t have him here with you, you would bring a memory of him that reminded you to stay strong until you saw him again. And you would…you knew that.

“We’re doing everything we can to find them, I promise. We’re going to find them.” Natasha gave you a hesitant smile, taking your hand to cross the expansive room to board the quinjet. Her hold on your hand was strong, but you could feel a slight shake in it like she might actually not believe what she was saying.

“I know.”

“I’d bet you anything that Tony is up there right now, devising a plan to get back here to you as fast as he can. He’s probably building his own spaceship out of spare parts and duct tape.”

You didn’t want to picture it, your dad worried and struggling to find a way home; it was too sad and you had to maintain the little strength you had left. There was nothing you wanted more than for the hand you were holding now to be his instead of hers, and to be hearing his gentle voice soothing you to sleep where this would all be okay. But you couldn’t think of that now; there was work to be done, and he would be expecting you to do it. “So, where’s Wakanda?”

“Africa. T’Challa’s sister, Shuri might be able to help remove the stone from Vision’s head without hurting him. There’s someone who wants it pretty bad, so we need to destroy it before they can get it.”

“Is that why Viz and Wanda look so sad?”

“Yeah.”

“He still might die, right? He’s trying to hide it from me, but I can tell that he’s worried. She hasn’t left him once since you all got here.”

“Look at me, (Y/N),” she stopped, kneeling down to be sure to hold your gaze, and to see her resolve as she spoke, “we’re working hard to make sure that he doesn’t. We all know how much you need each other, and we’ll do anything that we have to so that you stay together, okay?”

“Okay.”

With a nod, she accepted your reply, standing up with a new determination to make her promise hold. “And then we find Tony and Pete. We can do this.”

“Are you convincing me or you?” you asked quietly.

“How about a little bit of both?”


	7. Finale

_“Come on, Viz, Dad won’t’ ever let me do it, he says that it’s too dangerous.”_

_“Your father is correct,” he argued. The two of you were standing on the compound lawn, not long after Vision had come into your life, and you had taken the opportunity to test your limits with the newest member of your family. JARVIS was a part of him now, but he was a muted part and not likely to tattle on you if Vision could be convinced to go along with your request. “(Y/N), I feel as if I agree, I am betraying a trust.”_

_“I’m not asking for you to fly me across the world, okay? Just maybe across the lawn,” you smiled coyly. “Just a few feet off the ground, that’s all. Just enough for me to feel what it’s like to fly.”_

_Vision paused silently, his eyes shifting around as if he were reading the thoughts scrolling through his mind as he played out the risks; it was highly improbable, but he could drop you, or you could get scared and throw off his concentration, now that he had recently realized that he could easily be distracted when he thought it impossible. He was so ready to decline your request, and was ready with his litany of reasons why, but he had made the mistake of looking down at you. He had barely come to know you beyond the essence of JARVIS that he carried with him, but even in this very short time the bond was made, and he quickly understood why Tony had such trouble denying you anything._

_“The length of the lawn,” he finally relented, “no further.”_

_“The length and back?” you asked hopefully. “Otherwise we have to walk all the way back and that just doesn’t make sense.”_

_“The length and back,” Vision nodded, “and then it’s bedtime, my dear.”_

_“Yes! Thank you!” you exclaimed, pushing up on your toes and grabbing his arms. You stretched to your limit to reach his cheek, planting a quick kiss on it before pulling away in surprise at your own actions. It was a reflex that came naturally with Tony, but this was strange and completely unexpected. “I’m…I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what that was…”_

_“It’s quite alright, (Y/N),” he whispered, his hand gently brushing his cheek, but not so heavily that he dared to wipe away the kiss you had left behind. “Thank you.”_

_“For what?”_

_“For making me feel…” Vision stopped, introspective, “…for not being afraid.”_

_“Afraid of you? I’m not.”_

_“But there was a time? Was there not?”_

_“Sure,” you shrugged, “but I didn’t know you then, and to me all I could see what that JARVIS was gone and then there you were. I didn’t understand. I’m sorry that I was bad to you, Vision.”_

_His hand was still hovering just over his face without making contact, and it looked to you as if he were able to cry, he would be as he considered the full meaning to this moment. It was the first time that you had shown such decisive, uninhibited emotion with him, and it was the greatest moment of his short life thus far. “Please, never apologize to me, (Y/N). There is nothing that you could ever do to me that would require it. There is no one who will ever mean so much to me as you do right now.”_

~~~

Tony had no idea how long he had been gone from Earth. Not for sure, anyway. He had some idea, simply by the fatigue and hunger that was beginning to torment him on a planet that had absolutely no sign of life other than the group of humans and aliens that he was standing with now. Peter had been an ever-present companion, never leaving his side, but Tony wasn’t certain if that was because the kid was scared to be alone, or if he was scared to leave Tony alone. Other than you and Pepper, Parker was the only other person who could see past his bravado and knew that it was all an intricate act that he had yet to fully perfect.

“Mr. Stark, you okay?”

“Hmm?” Tony jolted to attention, quickly making himself look busy with a broken piece of insignificant metal on his suit. “Oh, yeah, totally. I’m always okay.”

“I’m sure that Cap is protecting Vision down there. They won’t let Thanos get the mind stone.”

“Right.”

“And I know that he would never let anything happen to (Y/N). No matter what’s going on between you two, he’s going to keep her safe until you can get home.”

“You think?” Tony asked genuinely. “Even after everything between us, I still have that little voice in the back of my head telling me to doubt the guy.”

Peter took a step forward, his hand raised to give his mentor a touch of support, to try to calm him when he could see the turmoil that was tearing his heart apart right before his eyes. This situation had brought out the most emotion that Pete had ever seen from Tony, and he was at a loss as to how to handle it. Tony Stark was his idol, who he emulated for knowledge and strength, and in this moment, he felt as if he were actually the stronger of the two. Without any more thought, he reached out and held Tony’s arm. “I know that he hurt you, sir, but this is one thing that I know for sure he wouldn’t fail on. If you can’t imagine him doing it for you, then just think of him doing it for her.”

“He’s a good guy, right?” Tony asked meekly. “She’s my daughter, Pete…and I’m not there to keep her safe like I always promised her…okay, listen, just say that he is and I can get through the next few minutes before I ask again.”

“He’s a good guy, Tony. So are you. If you need to convince yourself of something, then convince yourself of that, because we already know it.”

~~~

You had barely a moment to step from the jet with the rest of the Avengers, and not a second to spare looking at the wonders of Wakanda first hand, before all hell had broken loose and you were the one left to hold Vision’s hand while Shuri worked to remove the mind stone. There was something terrible happening on the grounds below the lab, and there were guards everywhere you looked. Even Bruce had left to join the fight, which you never would have expected once you had heard that the Hulk was refusing to help. Wanda had stayed with you and Vision for as long as she could, but once the battle had become too much for the rest of the team, she had to make a choice, and she left his side for the first time.

“You do not need to remain if this is difficult in any way, (Y/N),” he tried to reassure you gently, holding his head so still that even his eyes barely moved to look your way.

“I’m good. I don’t want you to be scared.”

“Thank you. I have to admit that I am feeling somewhat apprehensive, but knowing that you’re here is helping considerably.”

“Viz, please be okay. I do love you, even though I don’t say it much.”

“I love you too, darling. Always.”

A loud yell came from the hallway just beyond the doors, and your grip on him tightened. Shuri’s focus nearly faltered, but she held steady and so did you, though your grip on Vision’s hand strengthened just slightly. “What was that?”

“Go,” Vision urged, pushing you back gently, “run and hide, (Y/N). Anywhere that is safer than here. Please, go now.”

“I want to stay with you!”

“(Y/N), please, for me. I cannot protect you like this, and I cannot guarantee that I will not have to join the battle below. Please, go.” When the screams grew louder and the barrier had finally fallen, Shuri broke her connection and turned to fight the aliens off and away from Vision. When she was taken down quickly, Vision turned and grabbed the giant man, tossing them both through the window and tumbling to the ground as they bounced off the sides of the building.

“Guys, we have a Vision situation here!” Sam called out to the rest of the team, watching the action only a few feet from him.

“Someone needs to get to Vision!” Steve answered, though abruptly knocked down and out of the conversation. You ran to the window to try to see where they had gone, but your attention was gripped by the Captain looking back towards you.

“There’s no one up there with (Y/N)!” Bruce added, also unable to break away to help.

“I’m on my way,” Wanda finally responded successfully, but the confidence was quickly shattered as she too was knocked to the ground, helpless to defend herself, much less to be able to save you from whatever was happening in the lab where you were supposed to have been safe. Even as she struggled to push herself to stand, and as her body began to falter, all she could think was how she was failing you and Vision both, and it nearly broke her will to continue. She wished it had, because within minutes she was forced to make the most difficult decision of her life, and you would have to be witness to it. 

You would be witness to the beginning of the end.

~~~

“If he gets the stone, half the universe dies,” Vision began. “This isn’t only about us, Wanda. We have to help (Y/N). She deserves the chance to grow up without fear, and she will still have you. She’s lost too much already, Wanda, and you need to keep her safe now. You need to be a mother to her, please, do this for me.”

“I…I-I c-can’t,” she whimpered, though her hand was up and ready. “There has to be another way…”

“We can stop him, it’s alright. You could never hurt me.”

As she finally gave in and realized that he was right, her hand shook terribly but her aim held steady on the mind stone, her power struggling to break through it to destroy it and the person she loved more than anyone else. Her body was showing signs that she could break at any moment, made worse when her gaze locked with yours for a flash of a second. She wished that the words would come to her so that you would understand, so that she could console you, but there was no time for that; Thanos was getting closer and they were out of time.

The lab had been overtaken and there was nowhere safe for you anymore, and you had stumbled your way out onto the landing pad where you had arrived barely an hour before. You could see the battle clearly, and you could see exactly what Wanda was doing. Your heart felt as if it were shattering along with the stone, but Vision had warned you that this could be the only choice, and that Wanda wasn’t at fault. Even from the distance, you could see the tears streaming down her face as her power overtook Vision’s ability to move, but you couldn’t see his face. It was likely a blessing, because this was destroying you along with him. 

You could feel yourself change as you watched, the joys of childhood darkening, and the future that had once been promised to you by your father was nothing but a lie. You were impotent to help, and the fear that had stifled you was shifting into a rage that you didn’t want to quiet.

“W-Wanda…stop…” you tried to scream, though your voice was broken and lacked power, the sound barely coming out as a pained whimper. “I can’t…not Vis too…please.”

When the stone finally erupted and sent out a shock wave strong enough to knock you down, you scurried back to your feet to search for any sign that Vision had survived. What you saw instead was a momentary glance your way from the monster at the center of it all; your gaze locked with Thanos, but you didn’t try to run from it. You held your ground so that he would understand. So that he would see that when the day came to get revenge, you would be right there at the front of the charge, and no one would be able to stop you because he had taken everyone you loved.

What more could you lose?


End file.
